Ever wonder how small business owners collectively view political issues? You might be interested in reading the National Small Business Association's report "The Politics of Small Business". If you know many small business owners then many of the results may not surprise you. For example, small business owners are independent, critical thinkers with only less than 18% voting a straight party ticket.

Some of the other results include:

Only 14% of respondents considered themselves to be moderate to strong liberals on fiscal issues / the economy.

I know many people believe that increasing access to capital or improving lending are top political priorities of small business owners, but this survey shows that this is not at the top of business owners' concerns. Survey respondents believe the top three things the federal government can do to help their business are: 1, reduce and reform taxes; 2, get out of the way; and 3, reduce and reform regulation.

More than two-thirds believe policymakers inside the beltway have little to no understanding of small-business issues.

How would you like to see city, state, and local government help small businesses?